Peace Offering
by Anrheithwyr
Summary: I am the eldest child and only daughter of King Ronald of Gryffindor, who shares his position of power with my uncle, King Harry, alongside their wives, my mother Queen Hermione, and my aunt Queen Ginevra. When I was just four years old, my uncle and my father met with the king of our greatest enemy, the Slytherins, in an effort to dispel the war. I must marry Scorpius Malfoy.


_**Written on behalf of Puddlemere United's Beater 2, for the 'Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition' Round 7: Sinking a Ship. **_

_**Written for the 'If You Dare Challenge' by Slytherin Cat, using prompt # 16, settling in for the long siege. **_

_**Written for the 'Flower Language Challenge' by Sweet Bitter Life, using **__**Alstroemeria: Symbolizes wealth, prosperity and fortune. **_Write about a wealthy pureblood family. Alternative, write about the Malfoys.

_**Written for the 'Ten times Ten Challenge' by Utlaga, using adjective: safe. **_

_**3000 words exactly, excluding author's note. **_

….

_"But not all dark places need light, I have to remember that." ―Jeanette Winterson, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit_

"_Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you." ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones_

….

_Rose _

I am the eldest child and only daughter of King Ronald of Gryffindor, who shares his position of power with my uncle, King Harry, alongside their wives, my mother Queen Hermione, and my aunt Queen Ginevra. For a large part of my life, the relationships between the land of Gryffindor and the land of Slytherin have been tense-after all, the two kingdoms have been fighting for over a thousand years, and it was just ten years ago that my father and my uncle attempted to connect with their enemies after the death of my uncle George got to be too much, and they decided it was time to stop fighting in such a useless war, when so many had already died, and so many would continue to die if nothing was done. Although many on both sides disagreed with this plan, the three leaders-and the rulers of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff (King Terry and Queen Hannah, respectively) met as well, to keep them under control. It was something that had never been done before, and we, the people of this land, are still wondering if it will ever truly work.

When I was just four years old, my uncle and my father met with the king of our greatest enemy, the Slytherins, in an effort to dispel the war that our forefathers had been fighting for many years, long before I was even thought of. They met for two months, and I saw very little of my father while he was away, because there were hardly any chances for him to come back and visit, as he was so busy with delegations. After two months, however, the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin came to a conclusion, and an agreement: they would stop fighting as enemies, but each side had to offer up one of the royal children in an effort to connect the two sides, who had been fighting for so long. At this point, there were five royal children in all: my cousins James, Albus, and Lily-and my brother and I, the children of King Ron and his beautiful Queen Hermione, who ruled alongside his brother-in-law, Harry. However, the house of Slytherin was ruled by the solitary, stony Draco Malfoy, and he had but one heir: his son, Scorpius, who was also just four years old.

My father has never told me how much he regrets that day, ten years ago, but I know he does. He had offered his only daughter to be married to the son of his greatest enemy, and when we married, he would most likely never see me again, because I would be living away from my father and mother, too busy ruling alongside my husband, who has been a complete stranger to me up until now. I have never met him before today, my fourteenth birthday, the day I was promised to be given away to Scorpius for the rest of my life. Thankfully, we won't be officially married until both of us are eighteen, but for the next four years, Scorpius and I will live side by side, like brother and sister, in a house that my uncle Harry has built for us. This morning, as I ride alongside my mother in a bumpy carriage, will be the last time I spend with them for at least the next four years, and my mother is making the most of it, reminding me of absolutely everything she can think of in our last moments.

"Never forget that you are a lady, Rose." Mum tells me, straightening the hem of my dress and fixing my hair to be more 'presentable'. "Even if the Prince forgets his place around you, just remind him of such sharply and as fast as you can-you are a lady, darling, but you are a young girl yet, and he must remember such things until it is time otherwise. Certainly, there will be house elves around to assist you," she scowls at the very thought, and I recall the fact that my mother has been so adamant about freeing the house elves as of late. "and most likely a servant or two as well, for the more…._personal _aspects, but it is your duty to remain as _lady-like _as you can until your wedding day, my dear, do you understand me?"

I nod, and the carriage slows, rolling to a stop in front of a large cottage, with large trees all around the front, and lots of lovely flowers leading up on either side of the path. My mother smiles at me, her most regal smile, and gives me one last hug. I still cannot believe she ever agreed to this, that she ever said yes to letting me go forever, but I can see from the tightness in her smile, and the wetness in her eyes that she will miss me as much as I will her. It is our duty that we must perform, our duty to keep the kingdoms in a state of peace, and duty doesn't seem to care much about people's feelings. She kisses me good-bye, hugs me tightly, and then I slip out from my carriage, ready (or not) to start a new life, different from anything I've ever known. There is no escaping duty, and duty has called my name, loud and clear, like a bell ringing sharply on Sunday morning. I will not leave this house an unmarried woman, and I will not ever marry anyone but the man who is waiting for me.

"Be positive, my darling," she says, and I turn around to meet her brown eyes, which look so soundly down at me from her seat, and all I want to do is hop back in and ride away with her back to Gryffindor. "No matter what happens, remember that I love you and Dad loves you. Remember that we are always here. Stay positive, Rosie dear, stay positive and stay strong. Never forget how to love-it will help you, and life will be easier for you. Learn to love him, learn to be positive and always see the silver lining in every cloud." I smile at her, nodding, and start up the path, brushing away my tears with the sleeve of my dress, wishing I could be anywhere but where I was now, wishing my mother would suddenly have a change of heart and come back for me. But, that wasn't positive, I tell myself curtly, and I try a small smile, heart panging.

Scorpius waits inside, just behind the door, and he is nothing like I imagined he would be; he scowls as I walk in and curtsy, his blond hair perfectly done, his grey eyes staring at me in a bored manner. I was hoping for a boy with soft eyes and a wide smile, a boy who would immediately hug me, or at least tell me how glad he was to see me. (It might have been a lie, but a lie would have helped right then.) He's taller than me by several centimetres, and, even though I know he is just months younger than I am, it feels as if Scorpius has years and years of experience on me, like he knows things I've never seen and never will. I don't like him, I decide in those first few moments, I don't like him one bit, I know it right then and there that I will never love this cold-hearted, cold-eyed boy who stares so glumly at me. I haven't even heard him speak, and already I know I don't like him at all. _How could Dad ever agree to let me marry this boy, this stranger? I will never love him, never! I'd rather die than marry him!_ But I remember Mum's words, and I smile at him, ready.

"Hello, Prince Scorpius, I am Princess Rosalie, of Gryffindor. We are destined to be wed, I know, and I also know that we have been brought together to do our duty towards bringing our two kingdoms together. I am very glad to have met you, the Crown Prince of Slytherin, and I hope that you feel the same about me-or, at least that you will learn to." I continue to smile at him like some sort of idiot, waiting for a response, but he only nods at me curtly, before spinning around and walking away. I'm left standing in the entryway, puzzled and hurt. _This is the boy I am to marry in just a few years? This is the man who will be my husband, the father of my children? I can't imagine spending another minutes with him, let alone the rest of my life. Is the sake of our kingdoms really worth an eternity with him? _

I can hear him walking through the halls of the cottage, and I sigh, wishing my mother was not already on her long journey back to the castle, back where my old life had ended this morning, when I had kissed my brother good-bye and gathered my things. Now, stuck in this house, trying to get my future husband to at least speak to me, (_he will never love me, I can see that!_) I could only hold back the tears and try to smile, as my mother told me to do. _Be positive, Rosie dear, stay positive, stay strong. Stay strong, Rose, and always remember every cloud has a silver lining. _All I had to do was look for the good in her fiancé, all I had to do was search for the silver lining in Scorpius' dark cloud. Surely he wouldn't turn me away if I could just get him to smile and see a happier side to life. I was settling in for the long siege, and I wasn't planning on giving up.

Surely he would learn to love me if I laughed with him and danced with him and showed him the silver linings.

….

_Scorpius _

Scorpius has struggled to fall in love with Rose, who was so different from him in every way. She is happy, even when she had to fake it, and she seems to always be looking for some bright side in life, as if by searching for a silver lining in the clouds, she will make their lives better. She lives-in Scorpius' opinion, at least in the beginning-in a fantasy land of her own making, a little girl who was trying to pretend everything was fine, trying to act like she has fallen in love with a complete stranger who clearly hates her. But, Scorpius _has _grown to love her in his own way, and he hoped it showed. He feels safe around her, and he tries to keep her safe, because she's a bright, floating balloon, and Scorpius is afraid of what will happen if she pops. He loves her, it is almost easy to confess now, but it is not the sort of love she wants him to feel-Rose, or his father, or the entire kingdom, who are wishing for some sort of faery-tale romance to come out this whole event.

He doesn't think he'll ever find the one he loves (the one he truly, _truly _loves), but Scorpius thinks that maybe he's good enough off with Rose, who he loves in his own messed up way, and isn't that good enough? At least he's found someone to be with, even if it's not his 'other half' or whatever you wanted to call it-at least he could say he was happy and with someone who made him feel safe. There wasn't any chance of him getting out of this relationship, no chance of meeting _the one_, or even just another person, and besides, Rose loved him and she was kind to him, and he ought to be so happy, because there were plenty of people who could marry anyone they chose, and they'd still end up with someone who hated their every fibre, until death do us part. But Rose was sweet, Rose was a darling, and Rose was safe-besides, she was going to be his wife, even if he was opposed to it, and every day, Scorpius found it a little bit easier to say that he _wasn't _opposed, not at all, no sir, everything was just fine.

He'd felt that way right up until he met Prince Albus, quite by accident, of course, but still someone who changed his entire life; he's quiet and moody, but he seems to understand Scorpius in a way no one else does, not even Rose, who's been the only person he talked to for two years. He meets Albus quite by accident one day, when the boy (is he really a boy though? They're both sixteen, nearly adults, and old enough to make their own choices.) flies through their garden on his broomstick, nearly crashing into one of the apple trees near the back. Scorpius nearly cursed the other Prince's head off but took a second look, recognising the dark black hair and green eyes of the King of Gryffindor. Albus attempted to punch Scorpius, but Scorpius had grabbed his hand, and told him what was going on, where he was. Albus had been by as often as he could for the past three months, visiting for long talks by the river, or playing a friendly game of one-on-one Quidditch matches.

Rose and Albus are two completely different people, even if they are related; Rose walks around the cottage singing upbeat melodies, whistling, and always trying to talk him into dancing around outside in the garden. She is by his side when Scorpius wakes up early in the morning with nightmares, and she is the one who is always trying to get him to smile, and laugh along with her. But Albus…Albus is gloomy and sullen, with a turned-down mouth and bitter words always on the edge of his tongue, an angry look in his eyes, as if he's ready to attack the entire world just to defend the ones he cares about. Albus tells him the truth all the time, even if it's hurtful. (Rose lies to keep him happy-he can see it in her eyes.) Albus is a selfish asshole, but he doesn't seem to really care if he's insulted someone. Rose is light as a feather, and Albus is as dark as the shadows.

(But Scorpius likes the shadows, likes the darkness that comes in, creeping through the night. They remind him that he is only human, and that his problems are never as bad as they seem.)

It's duty that comes every night, when Albus is the face that swims in his head, when it's Albus who Scorpius longs for. Duty, duty, _do your duty, Scorpius-you've got no choice, Crown Prince of Slytherin, only heir of the line of Malfoy. There's no escaping your duty, because that's the only reason you're even in this situation. _Mother and Father had spent his entire life pounding that idea into him, that, as the only heir, he couldn't _fuck things up_, because there were no second chances, no replacing him, no saying "Whoops, our bad, can we try again?" He was the only heir, and duty was his only goal, the only thing he knew how to do, and if that meant marrying Rose when he was in love with Albus, didn't that mean he should forget that beautiful face? _Duty calls, my dear, and off to work we go._ (He always imagined it written in big red words, like a warning sign: DO YOUR DUTY, SCORPIUS MALFOY, OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!)

Scorpius has never disobeyed direct orders from anyone before (_You will be punished for this, son. For disappointing and embarrassing me._) and he wasn't sure if he had the strength to disobey now, not over something as important as the future of his kingdom, of the entire land of Hogwarts, which seemed to be slowly crumbling apart anyway. He was so conflicted all the time, between staying faithful to Rose, his fiancée (_You're always so gloomy nowadays, Scorpius. Is something wrong? Have I hurt you in some way? Oh, please smile for me, Scorpius, I want to see your smile.) _and being with the one he loved, Albus. (_Why the fuck do you want me? I'm broken and damaged, and I don't work right anymore. The dark prince of Gryffindor, the cast-off son….maybe that's why we fit together, two broken cogs still trying to run-we've found each other._) But, Rose was too light, too happy, too insistent that _smile brighter, Scorpius! Please, pretend to be happy, for me? _And Albus understood him so well, understood that even with all the riches in the world-even with the most beautiful, loving bride by your side-the world was a dark place. They were shadow-children, and they were made for each other. He hated the look of betrayal that Rose would no longer carry for the rest of her life, but he was only doing what was best for both of them.

There was only just a tinge of regret in his heart as he ran, slipping away into the night with Albus, leaving Rose to find his bed empty the next morning, wondering where he'd gone, wondering if he was ever coming back. He hadn't even left a note, or made up an excuse-he'd just disappeared, like the shadow he was, melting into the night and fading away forever. _For good? _The regret was a little easier to deal with when Albus looked over at him with that grim smile, asking him if he was ready to head back now, to call off their little adventure. He couldn't help but admire Albus' bitter smile and take his hand, and they _ran, ran, ran. (Where are we going? / All the way to Timbuktu, my dear, all the way.)_ He'd probably never stop running, but at least he was running with someone who understood, who cared, his shadow-lover, eternal.


End file.
